TALKING POINTS
THE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
* Two of America's closest allies, Canada and Australia,
have recently repealed bans on gay men, lesbians and
bisexuals serving in the military. Neither country reported
morale or conduct problems, any resignations, any
complaints by heterosexuals, or any violence aimed at gay
men, lesbians or bisexuals.
* No ban exists in most of the U.S. allies' militaries.
There is no ban against gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland,
Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and
Spain. There is also no ban in the neutral countries of
Austria, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
* Morale problems have not been reported in countries
without bans on gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in the
military.
* In the no-ban nations, conduct regulations are
strictly, equally and successfully applied to heterosexual
and homosexual conduct. No sexual conduct is allowed
between a soldier and any other person while on base, on
ship, on-duty or generally between an officer and a
subordinate.
* None of the no-ban countries officially ban gay people
from combat or deny security clearances to gay people
solely on the grounds of sexual orientation. None of these
countries report combat failures or breaches of security
related to the existence of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals
assigned to combat or security positions.
* Countries with no ban on gay men, lesbians and
bisexuals in their militaries have successfully worked with
soldiers from the United States without any problems,
including actual experience in combat during Operation
Desert Storm, in United Nations field operations, and
through participation in NATO field exercises.
* Countries that have official bans against gay people in
their militaries are Libya, South Africa, Iran and other
nations. New Zealand has reported plans to lift its ban.
Ireland is considering lifting its ban as well.
* Militaries without bans do not segregate gay men,
lesbians and bisexuals by either assignment or housing. No
privacy violations, conduct problems or complaints have
been reported.
[SOURCE: All data derived from Frank D. Pond, Esq., A
Comparative Analysis of Military Policies With Regard to Gay
Men and Lesbians, 1993 (Unpublished at present). This
108 page document is available upon request.]
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Prepared by the Legal/Policy Department of the Campaign
for Military Service. 2707 Massachussetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20009. (202) 265-6666.